Our Immortals will finally meet their end next year, but will Elena make a return? The final season of The Vampire Diaries begins this fall.

Though the final panel for The Vampire Diaries took place atSDCCthis year, we were sadly left without any new footage of the upcoming and final season; as the cast remained hush on Elena’s potential return.

Instead, we were treated to a nostalgic look back on the series so far, alongside an exclusive preview of the Fray’s new song, ‘Changing Tides’ (whose co-front man is Candice King née Accola’s, hubby and baby daddy; Joe King).

The question at the forefront of everyone’s minds is, will Nina Dobrev return?

Whilst there’s no official confirmation as of yet, Nina Dobrev has expressed her interest in returning for the show’s series finale; albeit this was before season 8 was confirmed to be the last.

As the trailer shares some of Nina’s final moments on set with us, I can’t help but hope, that this teases a return beyond lending some dialogue to the show.

However, in the trailer below, we look back on The Vampire Diaries with great appreciation. We’re left to remember just how we all got hooked.

Personally, I remember being across the pond and seeing the leaked pilot of this new vampire show online – shame on me. Immediately, I was hooked and read book after book in one sitting.

Whether Nina returns or not; alongside others such as Jeremy and Klaus, I’m prepared to shake the rest of my unease, over having an Elena-absent season and embrace the series’ conclusion with an echoed “thank you and goodbye”.

Check out the Season 8 sneak peek below, which includes a recap of our fave TVD villains!

Season 8 is a must-watch! Not only as a rite of passage and a farewell to a completely influential show, but because Kevin Williamson promises: “there is this really great thing to happen with this final bad”.

Check out more from this year’s SDCC below:

Elsewhere, The Originals was slated for a midseason return; having cast Hope Mikaelson as a ‘6-9-year-old daughter’.

Following The Vampire diaries 3-month time jump, will a further jump follow the midseason finale, to keep these shows in sync?